07. August 2023
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My Identity? Changing.

by Daniel Shaked
Flag with Star of David, skull, and the text 'Tottenham Hotspur' in a museum exhibition room
© Daniel Shaked
My identity? Nothing rigid. In the absolute abbreviation: Viennese, Jew, Austrianer (note: a fan of FK Austria Wien). In no particular order. It changes from setting to setting, from day to day. For whom? Who says what, to whom, and why? Yid, Schickeria, Jew, Super Jew, Jew club!
 
Jew, Austrianer, Viennese.


Flags of Israel and Amsterdam: Blurred Israeli flag next to Amsterdam flag with three white crosses on black background, red frame with text
© Daniel Shaked
Red star with face: Blurred red star with a face in the center against yellow and blue abstract shapes
© Daniel Shaked
Blurred numbers 90: Blurred white numbers '90' on a dark background
© Daniel Shaked

Red, blue, yellow, violet. As football fans, we identify with colors. As well as with successes. Hearsay. Radio. YouTube videos. Nevertheless, we speak with proudly swollen chests in the first-person plural “we” form about times past. Blurred images are to bear witness. We brag about long-gone victories as if we had been there. As if they still matter today? Some kind of World of Yesterday.


Blurred Star of David: A blurred Star of David symbol on a fabric background, likely a Jewish symbol.
© Daniel Shaked
Museum trophy in display case: Gold-colored trophy with two handles inside a museum display case with explanatory text
© Daniel Shaked
Close-up of flag with Star of David: Close-up of a waving flag featuring a blue Star of David on a white background and a red stripe with partially visible text
© Daniel Shaked

What is Jewish fan Identity? Who is allowed to call whom “Yid”? At what point is a club Jewish? Is there a “Jew club” threshold and can it be exploited commercially? Where and why? Who is, intermission, a Jew anyway? Hopp auf, Herr Jud!* Is there a Jewish identity in the stadium? If so, how, and does it come with a kippah? Do I have to think about it, or can I cheer?
 
Austrianer, Viennese, Jew.
 
My world draws in color, often black and white, through glasses and sometimes blurry.


Blurred banner with man's portrait: A blurred image showing a man's portrait in dark colors on a banner with red and white vertical stripes in the background
© Daniel Shaked
Men in suits with colorful background: Painting showing several men in suits and white shirts, partially blurred, with colorful fabric in the background
© Daniel Shaked
Tottenham Hotspur flag with Star of David: Flag with Star of David, skull, and the text 'Tottenham Hotspur' in a museum exhibition room
© Daniel Shaked

* According to Friedrich Torberg in his essay “Warum ich darauf stolz bin,” Hopp auf, Herr Jud! (“Let’s go, Mr. Jew!) was uttered during a football match between Brigittenauer AC and Hakoah. When cheering, fans usually called out "Hopp auf!" and the name of the person who was to be rooted for. The name of the Jewish player was not known to this fan. Instead of calling him Saujud (Jewish pig), which was customary at the time, he addressed him as “Mr. Jew.”